This survey is being conducted by the National Research Council of the National Academies as part of a request from Congress to review the U.S. human spaceflight program. The purpose of this study is to gather input from stakeholders and members of the scientific community. Your input will help the committee develop recommendations about the long-term goals and direction of NASA’s programs.

Before continuing, please know that your participation is voluntary. You may choose to skip any question or end the survey at any point. We will take all possible steps to protect your privacy and we can use your answers only for statistical research. This means that no individual will be identified in any of the analyses or reports from this study. The survey will take less than 20 minutes to complete.

NORC at the University of Chicago is conducting this study on behalf of the NRC. If you have any questions about your rights as a study participant, you may call the NORC Institutional Review Board, toll free, at 866-309-0542. Any other questions can be sent to the study’s email address: HumanSpaceflightStudy@norc.org.

3. Below are some reasons commonly given for space exploration. For each, please indicate whether you think it is a very important, somewhat important, not too important, or not at all important reason for space exploration in general, and for human spaceflight in particular.

SPACE EXPLORATION IN GENERAL

HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT

Very important

Somewhat important

Not too important

Not important at all

Very important

Somewhat important

Not too important

Not important at all

Expanding knowledge and scientific understanding

1☐

2☐

3☐

4☐

1☐

2☐

3☐

4☐

Driving technological advances

1☐

2☐

3☐

4☐

1☐

2☐

3☐

4☐

Extending human economic activity beyond Earth

1☐

2☐

3☐

4☐

1☐

2☐

3☐

4☐

Paving the way for future settlements in space

1☐

2☐

3☐

4☐

1☐

2☐

3☐

4☐

Paving the way for commercial space travel

1☐

2☐

3☐

4☐

1☐

2☐

3☐

4☐

Creating opportunities for international cooperation

1☐

2☐

3☐

4☐

1☐

2☐

3☐

4☐

Maintaining our national security

1☐

2☐

3☐

4☐

1☐

2☐

3☐

4☐

Enhancing U.S. prestige

1☐

2☐

3☐

4☐

1☐

2☐

3☐

4☐

Inspiring young people to pursue careers in science, technology, math and engineering

If in question 3 you marked two or more reasons as very important for space exploration in general, please answer question 4. Otherwise go to question 5.

4. Enter a “1” in the box next to the reason you consider to be the most important for space exploration in general, and a “2” in the box next to the reason you consider to be the next most important for space exploration in general.

1 Expanding knowledge and scientific understanding

2 Driving technological advances

3 Extending human economic activity beyond Earth

4 Paving the way for future settlements in space

5 Paving the way for commercial space travel

6 Creating opportunities for international cooperation

7 Maintaining our national security

8 Enhancing U.S. prestige

9 Inspiring young people to pursue careers in science, technology, math and engineering

10 Satisfying a basic human drive to explore new frontiers

If in question 3 you marked two or more reasons as very important for human spaceflight, please answer question 5. Otherwise go to question 6.

5. Enter a “1” in the box next to the reason you consider to be the most important for human spaceflight, and a “2” in the box next to the reason you consider to be the next most important for human spaceflight.

1 Expanding knowledge and scientific understanding

2 Driving technological advances

3 Extending human economic activity beyond Earth

4 Paving the way for future settlements in space

5 Paving the way for commercial space travel

6 Creating opportunities for international cooperation

7 Maintaining our national security

8 Enhancing U.S. prestige

9 Inspiring young people to pursue careers in science, technology, math and engineering

4 ☐ NASA should conduct human space exploration missions beyond Low Earth Orbit mainly or exclusively as part of an international collaboration that includes current partners as well as new and emerging space powers

10. Looking beyond the very near term, consider what goals a worthwhile and feasible U.S. human space exploration program might work toward over the next 20 years. How strongly do you favor or oppose the following options for NASA, bearing in mind that these are multi-year projects and the costs given are approximate overall costs.

Strongly favor

Somewhat favor

Somewhat oppose

Strongly oppose

LEAST EXPENSIVE (Tens of Billions)

Continue with Low Earth Orbit flights to the International Space Station until 2020

1☐

2☐

3☐

4☐

Extend the International Space Station to 2028

1☐

2☐

3☐

4☐

Send humans to a Near-Earth asteroid in its native orbit

1☐

2☐

3☐

4☐

MORE EXPENSIVE (Hundreds of Billions)

Return to the Moon and explore more of it with short visits

1☐

2☐

3☐

4☐

Establish outposts on the Moon

1☐

2☐

3☐

4☐

Conduct orbital missions to Mars to teleoperate robots on the surface

1☐

2☐

3☐

4☐

Land humans on Mars

1☐

2☐

3☐

4☐

MOST EXPENSIVE (Trillions)

Establish a human presence (base) on Mars

1☐

2☐

3☐

4☐

11. How important is it for NASA to do each of the following over the next 20 years?

Very important

Somewhat important

Not too important

Not important at all

Maintain the International Space Station as a laboratory for scientific research

1☐

2☐

3☐

4☐

Make the investments necessary to sustain a vigorous program of human space exploration

1☐

2☐

3☐

4☐

Make the investments necessary to sustain a vigorous program of robotic space exploration

1☐

2☐

3☐

4☐

Limit human space exploration to Earth-orbit missions while maintaining robotic missions for exploring in and beyond the solar system

1☐

2☐

3☐

4☐

Maintain world leadership in human space exploration

1☐

2☐

3☐

4☐

Improve orbital technologies such as weather and communication satellites

The United States has publicly funded its human spaceflight program on a continuous basis for more than a half-century, through three wars and a half-dozen recessions, from the early Mercury and Gemini suborbital and Earth orbital missions, to the lunar landings, and thence to the first reusable winged crewed spaceplane that the United States operated for three decades. Today the United States is the major partner in a massive orbital facility - the International Space Station - that is becoming the focal point for the first tentative steps in commercial cargo and crewed orbital space flights. And yet, the long-term future of human spaceflight beyond this project is unclear. Pronouncements by multiple presidents of bold new ventures by Americans to the Moon, to Mars, and to an asteroid in its native orbit, have not been matched by the same commitment that accompanied President Kennedy's now fabled 1961 speech-namely, the substantial increase in NASA funding needed to make it happen. Are we still committed to advancing human spaceflight? What should a long-term goal be, and what does the United States need to do to achieve it?

Pathways to Exploration explores the case for advancing this endeavor, drawing on the history of rationales for human spaceflight, examining the attitudes of stakeholders and the public, and carefully assessing the technical and fiscal realities. This report recommends maintaining the long-term focus on Mars as the horizon goal for human space exploration. With this goal in mind, the report considers funding levels necessary to maintain a robust tempo of execution, current research and exploration projects and the time/resources needed to continue them, and international cooperation that could contribute to the achievement of spaceflight to Mars. According to Pathways to Exploration, a successful U.S. program would require sustained national commitment and a budget that increases by more than the rate of inflation.

In reviving a U.S. human exploration program capable of answering the enduring questions about humanity's destiny beyond our tiny blue planet, the nation will need to grapple with the attitudinal and fiscal realities of the nation today while staying true to a small but crucial set of fundamental principles for the conduct of exploration of the endless frontier. The recommendations of Pathways to Exploration provide a clear map toward a human spaceflight program that inspires students and citizens by furthering human exploration and discovery, while taking into account the long-term commitment necessary to achieve this goal.

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